Transfer mechanism for automatic routing conveyors



March 15, 1966 B. c. HOLBEN 3,240,319.

TRANSFER MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC ROUTING CONVEYORS Original Filed April20, 1961 U N 40 l i E 32 "26 1 9 ,l I: h)-

JNVEKTO 3 Bernard C. :Holben aww m ATTORKIEY United States Patent3,240,319 TRANSFER MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC ROUTING CONVEYORS Bernard C.Holben, Dublin, Ohio, assignor to Industrial Nucleonics Corporation, acorporation of Ohio Original application Apr. 20, 1961, Ser. No.104,455, new Patent No. 3,126,086, dated Mar. 24, 1964. Divided and thisapplication Dec. 26, 1963, Ser. No. 333,571 2 Claims. (Cl. 198-185) Thisis a division of my copending application Serial No. 104,455, filedApril 20, 1961, now Patent No. 3,126,- 086, and the disclosure thereofis incorporated by reference herein.

This invention relates generally to conveyor systems and morespecifically to improved apparatus for diverting and transferringarticles from one conveyor to another.

In conveyor systems, articles traveling on a main conveyor line mustfrequently be routed onto other intersecting branch conveyors forpurposes of sorting or storage. It may be desired to either divert thearticles whereby their direction of travel is altered or to transferarticles from one conveyor to another traveling in the same direction.Whatever the operation the actuating member must be positive-acting.Reliability is essential to the successful operation of conveyor systemshandling large volumes of trafiic. Recently, the trend has been tohigher conveyor line speeds approaching 120 feet per minute and a.

traffic volume approaching thirty or thirty-five units per minute.Slow-acting prior art devices have failed to cope with these highconveyor speeds especially where the traflic density is greater thanfifteen units per minute.

The present invention provides an improved material transfer stationcomprising a pneumatically-operated diverter bar carrying a plurality ofaligned roller bearings. The arm is pivoted at one end and pivotallyconnected at a point intermediate the ends thereof to apiston-andcylinder driving mechanism. The arm is movable from a firstposition out of the path of trays traveling on the main conveyor to asecond position wherein the roller bearings define an alternate path forthe tray with the intersecting branch conveyor.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providean improved material transfer station for rapid conveyor systems.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a materialtransfer station that is quick and reliable in operation.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide amaterial transfer station that is readily adaptable to existing conveyorsystems.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a materialtransfer station that is simpler to construct and more economical tomaintain in operating condition than similar devices used heretofore.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from the following description when taken inconjunction with the present invention:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a conveyor system showing amaterial transfer station constructed in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a partial top plan view of the transfer station shown in FIG.1; and,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings and specifically to FIG. 1, a main conveyor 12is adjoined by a branch conveyor 14 intersecting at some angle 0. At theintersection is provided a U-shaped mounting bracket 16 welded to oneside of the main conveyor 12. A diverter bar 18 is pivotally mounted atone end by a pin 20 extending 3,240,319 Patented Mar. 15, 1966downwardly through the mounting bracket 16 and secured thereto.

An air cylinder 22 and piston rod 24 provide the driving force requiredto move the diverter bar 18 into the dotted line position 18a. One endof the cylinder is pivotally mounted on the bracket 16 by a pin 26 toaccommodate the rotary movement of the bar 18. The piston rod 24 isthreaded at one end to receive a block 28. The block is fastened ontothe diverter bar 18 by a capscrew 30. The air cylinder is secured at theother end by a bracket 32 which also pivots about the pin 26 ashereinafter explained. A conduit 34 admits air under pressure to theinterior of the cylinder 22 thereby producing an outward thrust on thebar 18.

The construction of the bar 18 carries a plurality of roller bearings 36in horizontal alignment. A vertical pin 38 rotatably mounts each rollerbearing 36 to the bar 18. In this manner, when the bar 18 is swung out,the thrust of the piston is exerted over a substantially large areadistributed over the length of a tray 10. Moreover, the force is exertedagainst the side of the tray in the desired direction of travel.

As the bar 18 is forced outward, the longitudinal axis of the cylinder2-2 can no longer remain perpendicular to the conveyor 12. Referring toFIG. 3, means for pivoting the cylinder assembly for rotation is shown.The pivot pin 26 extends through bearings 40, 42 provided in themounting bracket 16. The pin 26 is slotted to receive a cylindermounting bracket 44 which may be welded. Pin 26 is provided with ashouldered upper and lower end portions. The lower portion is threadedto receive the cylinder supporting bracket 32 and a retaining nut 46.

While the present invention has been described in terms of specificapparatus, this construction should be in no way interpreted as limitingthe invention. Inasmuch as numerous additions, omissions andsubstitutions may be made to the illustrated embodiments withoutdetracting from the original spirit or scope of the invention, the onlyrestrictions are those clearly imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Article diverting apparatus comprising:

a main conveyor for conveying said article in one direction,

a side conveyor joining said main conveyor and extending therefrom todefine a alternate path for said article,

a straight diverter bar positioned above said main conveyor across fromsaid side conveyor,

means for pivotally mounting one end of said bar on the outside of saidmain conveyor,

air cylinder drive means having a movable piston rod extending from oneend thereof,

means for pivotally connecting said piston rod to said diverter bar at apoint intermediate the ends of said bar,

means for energizing said piston rod to move said diverter arm from anon-obstructing position aligned with said main conveyor to a divertingposition aligned with said side conveyor, and

means for pivotally mounting said air cylinder on said main conveyor toallow said cylinder to swing when said cylinder is energized.

2. Article diverting apparatus, comprising:

a main conveyor for conveying said article in one direction,

a side conveyor joining said main conveyor and extending therefrom todefine an alternate path for said article,

a diverter bar positioned above said main conveyor across from said sideconveyor,

said diverter bar having a plurality of roller bearings mounted alongthe inside edge of said bar for engaging said article to be diverted,means for. pivotally mounting one end of said bar on the outside of saidmain conveyor for movement in a plane parallel to the plane of saidconveyors, an air-cylinder having a movable piston rod extending fromone end thereof, means for pivotally connecting said piston rod to saiddiverter bar at a point intermediate the ends of said bar, means foractuating said piston rod to move said diverter arm from anon-obstructing position aligned with said main conveyor to a divertingposition aligned with said side conveyor, means for pivotally mountingsaid air cylinder to allow said cylinder to swing in said plane whensaid piston rod is actuated,

said pivotal mounting means including a U-shaped frame member fastenedto the outside of said main conveyor, an axle extending verticallythrough said frame member and having References Cited by the ExaminerUNITED STATES PATENTS 1,763,809 6/1930 Murphy l9838 X 1,868,894 7/1932Glahn 19838 X 2,219,055 10/1940 Pereslegin 198 28 3,045,792 7/1962Greller 19336 OTHER REFERENCES How To Get Packages Off Conveyors, anarticle from Modern Materials Handling magazine; April 1960, pages97-100.

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM B. LABORDE, Examiner.

1. ARTICLE DIVERTING APPARATUS COMPRISING: A MAIN CONVEYOR FOR CONVEYINGSAID ARTICLE IN ONE DIRECTION,